A MAN with a metal detector has found ancient treasure worth more than £1million.

A MAN with a metal detector has found ancient treasure worth more than £1million.

The amateur enthusiast discovered four Iron Age gold neckbands in a field. He now stands to net a fortune.

The exact location of the field is being kept a secret to prevent a "gold rush". But the Record can reveal the gold was found in a field near Stirling.

The "torc" necklaces are like those worn by queen Boudicca 2000 years ago. Three are said to be in "perfect condition".

A torc found in England in 2005 sold last year for £350,000.

And experts believe each of the necklaces found in Scotland could be worth the same.

Under Scots law, the relics are classed as "treasure trove" and become property of the Crown.

But the finder, whose identity has not been revealed, can expect a reward equal to the current market value of the jewellery.

A source close to a dig team who excavated the site said: "We've never seen anything like this before.

"The workmanship is breathtaking. Some of the gold wire used is the thickness of your finger.

"No one here wants to put a price on it. One of the guys said that there were a lot of silly figures flying around."

The necklaces date from the 1st and 3rd century BC - hundreds of years before the Romans invaded Britain.

The treasure trove Unit at the Edinburgh HQ of the National Museums of Scotland were alerted to the find by the treasure hunter .

The exact value of the gold will be decided by a Government-appointed panel and will not be known for several months.

One of the necklaces is a "ribbon torc" made from twisted Irish or Scottish sheet gold.

Another is encrusted with small circles of gold wire and beads of gold that look like pearls. Two fine gold chains act as fasteners.

According to the source, a torc of similar quality has only ever been found once before - in the south of France.

The insider said: "The find is astonishing and raises lots of questions, such as how did a necklace designed in the south of France end up in Scotland a century before the Romans arrived?" Scots experts will be keen to compare the four torcs to five items discovered previously in England.

The most recent was found in a field near Newark, Nottinghamshire, in 2005 by another metal detector enthusiast .

Maurice Richardson discovered the gold and silver torc while out looking for bits of World War II aircraft.

The neckband was thought to have been made by the Iceni tribe, once headed by Celtic queen Boudicca, whose power base was in present-day East Anglia.

The object became known as the Newark Torc and was bought last year for £350,000 by Newark and Sherwood District Council.

The majority of the money came from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Mr Richardson and the landowner each got £175,00 under the Treasure Act 1996, which applies in England andWales.

In Scotland, the value of treasure is decided by the Scottish Archeological Finds Allocation Panel (SAFAP).

The group is made up of six experts, including museum officials and academics.

The National Museums of Scotland source said: "These kinds of valuations can become quite controversial."

The Scots find rivals the discovery earlier this year of the UK's largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure, dating from around the 7th century.

Metal detector enthusiast Terry Herbert found the 1500 gold and silver pieces, also thought to be worth more than £1million., on farmland in Staffordshire in July.